Advising

The Bachelor of Integrative Studies (BIS) empowers students to build a curriculum for their specific career and educational goals. Students receive on-on-one assistance from a BIS Academic Adviser and an assigned faculty mentor. A blend of courses from multiple disciplines, ultimately creates a degree that prepares today's students for an increasingly interdisciplinary and versatile world.

Check your adviser's work (they are human and make mistakes), raise questions and point out anything that seems confusing or incorrect.

Come early to be on time! If you are more than 15 minutes late for your appointment, you will be asked to reschedule your appointment so we can better serve you.

Class Schedule Selection

Understand how university requirements apply to your academic records. Carefully read the catalog parts that apply to you, especially those that apply to General Education. Make sure classes you need to fulfill a requirement meet the catalog stipulations.

Don't sign up for a class for which you have already received credit. This happens often to transfer students. Classes at another school often have different titles and usually have different numbers. Check your plan of study and TCE.

Select classes where possible with professors that you find engaging. A course title never teaches a class, a teacher teaches a class. The right teacher makes the most unattractively titled class compelling. Talk to peers whose opinions you respect. Trust your own judgment as well - especially if you are a junior or senior. It is unprofessional for advisers to make teacher recommendations.

Course Substitutions

Does the class you are substituting carry at least the same number of credits as the one you are replacing?

Are you using a 100/200 level class to replace a 300/400 level class?

Have you chosen to replace a course that satisfies your general education, ethnic diversity or writing proficiency requirement?

Have you requested a course substitution or petition of exception through the BIS eplan? www.oakland.edu/bis "e-Plan log in" "forms" section

Graduating

Request a senior check via email by contacting us at bis@oakland.edu once you accumulate 91 credits. You may also request this check by contacting the BIS office by phone at 248-370-3229. This identifies the remaining requirements you need to graduate.

Fill out the Online Application for Degree online by visiting the Applying for Graduation page.

Major Standing Application

E-Plan and Rationale

To submit a completed application, a student interested in BIS must complete an e-Plan and BIS Rationale after meeting with an adviser. The rationale should be sent directly to the adviser once completed.

The BIS advisers are available to help you through your BIS journey. When making an appointment, please specify advising type. Career advising is limited to 60 minutes and general advising is limited to 30 minutes. Walk-in appointments (when available) are limited to 15 minutes per student. For each advising session, bring any and all records of college-level course work (including OU’s SAIL transcript and transfer credit evaluations, in case we are unable to obtain them).

Zachary Carlson (Literary Foundation for Teaching)– “After years of fumbling through classes at various universities, I felt lost. I had taken classes in route to a business degree as well as a science degree and nothing seemed to take hold. Enter the BIS program at Oakland University. I discovered the program by accident to be completely honest. It seemed too good to be true; could there really be a way to combine different disciplines of learning and create your very own degree program? I went to meet with an advisor and never looked back. I truly believe that interdisciplinary studies are the way of the future and I couldn't be more proud to say that my degree is from the BIS program at OU!”

Christina Corso (Business Communication) – “When I first came to Oakland University I was unsure exactly what I wanted to study and was afraid of being stuck with a degree I did not want. I originally found myself in the business school but while I was taking my first set of classes, I realized that I wanted to be more creative as well. Integrative Studies allowed me to integrate both the business and communication departments together in order to pursue a specialized course plan that consisted of subjects I am actually passionate about, as well as an interdisciplinary education that is directed towards my future career path.”

Ashley Dababneh, MS – “I chose this program because it allowed me the freedom to choose my future. Being able to integrate different areas of study that I was interested in to accomplish my goal of getting into medical school has served me well. I not only achieved my BIS degree at Oakland University, I was able to obtain my Masters of Science degree in Anatomical Sciences at Lincoln Memorial University. Today, I am a second year medical student at Lincoln Memorial University- Debusk College of Osteopathic Medicine! I'm looking forward to becoming a physician, and I have the Integrative Studies program to thank for helping me lay the groundwork to accomplish my dreams.”

O'Nel Kalasho (Entrepreneurial Business)– “The world does not follow one path and I figured my studies should not either. Being able to incorporate multiple disciplines within one realm allowed me to branch out. BIS allowed me to take several career paths and venture into new areas that once seemed out of my reach.”

Shelby Sharette(Human Interaction and Literacy) – “I'd love to encourage students to take the BIS path! I feel like BIS was right for me because I didn't (and still don't!) know exactly what the "forever" career is for me. I got to combine several different areas of study that I most enjoyed and excelled at in order to obtain a well-rounded degree, and I feel it presents a bounty of opportunities you may not have otherwise realized were out there. I think a lot of people, myself included, don't fit into just one "box". I hated the idea of being stuck with one career for the rest of my life; we are ever-changing creatures, thus, our interests change, too!”

Zachary Yaker (Pre-Med)- Attended the University of Michigan where he completed the necessary pre-med requirements. He spent several years working in clinical and research settings. As a part of the BIS program he plans on taking courses that will improve his communication and writing skills as well as further his scientific knowledge. He has already been accepted into Central Michigan University's Medical School.